


Ghosts of Christmas Past

by Rinshi



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 19:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13130217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinshi/pseuds/Rinshi
Summary: This is my contribution for the Meihem Secret Santa event of 2017! When I got the message with my assignment I just knew that it was perfect for me when I received the following prompt: "Junkrat realising that Mei has missed out on a lot of Christmases whilst she was frozen and trying to make up for it all in one go." I was so excited to write this, and I really hope it brings a little Christmas warmth to you. Merry Christmas!





	Ghosts of Christmas Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



It wasn’t that she didn’t like Christmas anymore, but the feeling of it was different now. Growing up in a Buddhist household, Mei had never really celebrated Christmas when she was young, though she had always loved seeing the trees of light in the city all wrapped up with strings of sparkling little stars. The stores with their dazzling decorations would sell apples wrapped in brightly colored paper or in fancy little boxes for Christmas Eve. Her mother would buy her one every year; her one allowance for the western holiday. Mei would always feel a little twinge of guilt for biting into it and ruining the pretty picture that had been stenciled on the front. There were Christmas songs blaring throughout the malls as men dressed up as Santa Claus enticed shoppers with their jovial smiles. It was all quite fun and festive, but it always felt a bit like stumbling into someone else’s birthday party that you weren’t technically invited to.

It wasn’t until she was older and began to travel and interact more with people from other countries that Mei began to truly appreciate Christmas. Her work took her across the globe to meet people from all walks of life. The scientists that she would cultivate friendships with taught her about the customs of their home countries, and Mei became fascinated by the incredibly diverse traditions spread across the world’s cultures. She quickly came to love the season; a time of giving, of treasuring the relationships that filled her heart with joy and love, of hope for a peaceful world in the future. The last Christmas she had truly celebrated had been a decade ago at EcoPoint Antarctica. She had been so hopeful then.

Mei stared out the window of the hotel lounge and watched the people walking by on the street below her. New York City. A UN conference. Winston thought he had a chance to convince them to overturn the Petras Act and officially reinstate Overwatch’s charter. Everyone else thought he was being foolish, but Mei had followed him anyway, ever the optimist. A little voice in the back of her mind whispered that the real reason she went along was so she would be busy over Christmas and could pretend to ignore it. Here she was about as far away from her family in China as she could get; a family that may very well still think her dead for all she knew. If any of them had gotten the news that she was alive, no one had tried to contact her. They had mourned her, buried her, and moved on. What right did she have to tread upon that solemnity?

“Or maybe you’re just afraid to face them,” Mei whispered to her own face, reflected dimly in the glass.

“Afraid o’ what?” asked a voice behind her, and Mei practically jumped out of her skin.

She spun around to find him clumping toward her, his eyes burning bright as little fires from his pointed face. At least he was dressed sensibly for the season with a jacket and cap, although he’d torn the right leg of his trousers to accommodate his peg leg.

“I certainly hope it ain’t me,” he went on with a grin, “I thought we was past that, an’ all.”

“What are you doing here, Jamison?” Mei asked, ignoring his comment.

Jamison “Junkrat” Fawkes had joined the team about six months prior, along with his bodyguard Mako “Roadhog” Ruttledge, and in that time a sort of uneasy and awkward friendship had formed between Mei and the quirky junkers.

“Aw, just thought I’d come check out the City That Never Sleeps. See what all the hoopla was like on Christmas, y’know? Fancy runnin’ into you here!”

Mei raised one eyebrow.

“This is my hotel, Jamison.”

“Oh, is it?” he said with poorly acted surprise, “Well, ain’t that just a crazy coinkydink?”

Mei rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the corner of her mouth from turning up into a wry smirk.

“Yes, how strange,” she said with a chuckle, “Well, just stay warm out there, okay? Have fun.”

She started to turn back toward the window, but Junkrat touched her arm.

“Why don’t’cha come with me, Snowball? It’d be loads more fun that strollin’ round by meself.”

“I’m here on business, not to go sightseeing.”

“Aw, what, that conference thingo? That ain’t tonight, is it? Can’t be: it’s Christmas Eve! Beside, I’m sure good ol’ Winnie can handle it on his own if need be.”

“I think he would kill you if he heard you call him that.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing he ain’t round right now, innit? Come on: come out with me. Just for a bit.”

“Jamison, I…”

She trailed off. The look he was giving her, his excited grin and pleading eyes, for some reason it was cutting knives into her heart, and she tore away from him to face the glass again, a tight lump in her throat.

“I can’t right now. I’m sorry.”

For a long moment Jamison was silent, and Mei fully expected him to shrug and wander off in search of something more fun and interesting than her with her childish moping. Instead she heard him shuffling up behind her, and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” he said, his voice low, “What’s wrong, eh? This ain’t like ya.”

Mei’s tongue was like lead in her mouth as she struggled with what to say. She tried to force her voice past the tightness in her throat, but all she got was a stinging at the corners of her eyes. She took a shuddering breath and tried again.

“It’s just been a long time,” she finally said, “for everyone else… except me.”

Even she was surprised at just how bitter her voice sounded. How long had this wound been festering in her heart without her realizing it? She had thought that the anxiety growing in her breast had simply been nerves surrounding the conference. Had she actually been dreading the approaching holiday and the bittersweet memories it might unearth? Her thoughts were interrupted as Jamison’s grip on her shoulder suddenly tightened and he spun her around to face him.

“Well!” he said as a toothy grin lit his face and his eyes sparkled with mischief, “We’re just gonna havta fix that!”

Rough fingers intertwined with her own as he grabbed her hand and started leading her back toward the lobby.

“Wait, what? W-where are we going?” Mei protested.

“To get your coat,” he told her, and he jerked a thumb toward the exit, “You been out there lately? It’s cold as!”

Soon he was dragging her along behind him again, this time down the street outside as the setting sun threw long shadows across the city and lit the skyscrapers in hues of burning pink and russet gold. All around them were people laughing and smiling, couples holding hands, families walking and talking together. The shops were aglow with lights and festive decorations. Jamison pulled them into a café, and they emerged several minutes later clutching steaming cups of hot cocoa against the cold.

“This better be good for what they were chargin’,” Jamison grumbled. He leaned in to take a sip and immediately lurched back with a cry of, “Gah! Hot!”

Mei smirked; a dollop of whipped cream frosted the tip of Jamison's long nose. She found herself fighting a sudden and unbidden urge to lick it off, so she turned to her own drink and licked some of the whipped cream off of that instead, her cheeks flushed pink. It did taste good, at least.

“Where are we going?” she asked, and Jamison flashed her a smug grin.

“You’ll see soon enough. Wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told ya, now would it Snowball?”

He walked with the purpose of a man who knew exactly where he was going, not someone making up a plan on the fly, and as they walked Mei began to wonder just how much of this outing Jamison had planned in advance and how long she had been part of it. Then they turned a corner and her attention was taken entirely by the massive Christmas tree that loomed ahead of them, sparkling with thousands of tiny points of light. Wireframe statues of angels stood with trumpets raised triumphantly in two columns along the square that led toward the tree, and at its base she could see an ice skating rink.

“This is… Rockefeller Center,” Mei gaped, eyes wide.

“Sure is!” Jamison said brightly, and he took a long swig of his cocoa before he linked Mei’s arm in his and led her eagerly across the square.

It was no surprise that the skating rink was crowded, so they grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby sandwich shop while they waited their turn. Mei marveled at the beautiful displays of lights, the statues and the fountains, the crowds of people milling about and enjoying the festive evening. Jamison passed the time by picking out random passers by and making up elaborate stories about who they were and what they were actually up to. Mei dutifully laughed at his jokes, but inside was that old out-of-place feeling that had permeated Christmas for her as a child. Like she didn’t really belong there.

When at last it was their turn on the ice, Mei looked at Jamison with a little frown as she tugged on her rental ice skates.

“Jamie… How are you going to skate with your peg leg?”

“Poorly, I expect.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Jamison was rather hopeless in the rink, but you wouldn’t know it from the grin he wore. Every sprawling tumble he met with laughter, and no matter how many times he stumbled he was always back up again in a flash with a quip and a smile. Mei had met people who didn’t like successfully ice skating as much as Jamison appeared to enjoy failing at it.

Mei was a competent enough skater to keep her feet, though she tried not to stray too far from Jamison as they glided and slid along the ice under the gaze of the great golden statue of Prometheus looming over the crowded rink.

“Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends,” Mei read aloud the words emblazoned on the granite wall behind the reclining figure of the massive Titan. Jamison giggled from where he currently sat on the ice.

“Well,” he said with a little salute to the statue, “thanks a load, mate!”

Eventually it was time to leave the rink, and Mei helped Jamison to the exit. The sun had quite set by then, but the city still seemed almost bright as day thanks to the lit storefronts and holiday displays. As Mei sat to remove her skates, she thought she caught Jamison referring to a tiny notebook in his hand, but then it was secreted away in a pocket again and she pretended she hadn’t seen. Once they had their normal shoes back on he took her by the hand once more.

“Come on!” he said with a grin, “We still got lots more to do, an’ it ain’t gettin’ any earlier!”

Their next stop was a shopping mall to get their photo taken with a Santa Claus who reminded Mei quite a bit of Torbjörn. As they walked away she giggled at the print in her hand; in the photo she was laughing at Jamison, who had stolen Santa’s cap and insisted that she sit in  _ his _ lap. The Santa had good-naturedly stood behind the two of them and placed his arms around them both with a warm smile.

From there it was on to wander about the mall itself, and to Mei’s great embarrassment Jamison had gotten it into his head that they needed to go caroling. What he lacked in technique he made up for in gusto, though Mei wasn’t certain that actually amounted to a good thing. Regardless, his enthusiasm possessed sufficient charm that he managed to draw others to join them, until a sizable group began to form as they traveled from store to store. As more people joined in and spirits rose around the growing sense of camaraderie, Mei felt some of the tension ease out of her shoulders. Here they were, a group of strangers, sharing in something spontaneous and slightly magical. That wasn’t a terrible description of Jamison himself, she thought.

Eventually the group was large enough that it took on a sort of life of its own, and Mei and Jamison slipped away as the rest continued on.

“All right, Snowball,” Jamison said, rubbing his hands together, “Fifteen minutes. We each get fifteen minutes to get a prezzie for the other, and then meet back here. Deal?”

“A prezzie?” Me echoed, “You mean a present? In only fifteen minutes?!”

“Yeah, just somethin’ small, like. Nothin’ crazy. Besides, pretty sure I got ‘crazy’ bloody well covered, eh? Come on; it’ll be fun!”

“Um, okay, but… this place is huge. Can’t I have a little longer?”

“Fine, fine. Twenty minutes. But no more! Aaaaaand  _ go! _ ”

He took off without even waiting for her to respond, and Mei dashed in the opposite direction. How in the world was she supposed to find Jamison a gift in only twenty minutes? A lot of the stores looked pretty expensive, too. She ducked into the first storefront that didn’t look like everything in it would cost half her salary, some sort of small department store. Mei looked this way and that for a few helpless moments before she heard a chirping beep from her oversized purse.

“Snowball?” she murmured, holding the bag open as the drone bobbed drowsily into the air beside her. She’d brought her little friend along in sleep mode, just in case. “Do you want to help me find a present for Jamison?”

Snowball beeped, its eyes smiling, and did a little twirl.

“Okay,” Mei laughed, “but we don’t have much time! Let’s split up, and if you find something good, come get me!”

The drone bobbed its assent and floated off, and Mei giggled as she turned toward a display of printed mugs and other glassware. Now she had the advantage of an extra set of eyes.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching for an appropriately sarcastic mug or pint glass (all that seemed to be left were cutesy sayings, American sports teams, and a slew of mugs with various dog breeds printed on them), Snowball came floating back to her in a flurry of excited beeping. It had something draped over its head, and when Mei held it up she grinned.

“Perfect!”

She hummed and swung the little shopping bag in her hand as she waited for Jamison at the designated rendezvous point. Shortly the increasingly familiar sound of his uneven gait reached her ears, and Mei turned to see him hurrying back with his own bag. Mei checked her watch.

“Seconds to spare,” she told him with a grin.

“Time is money, and I’m flat broke,” he agreed with a smile of his own, “but mission accomplished!”

“Me too!”

They exchanged bags with eager hands, seeming just as excited, if not more so, for the other to open the gift they had purchased than to receive their own. Mei let Jamison open his first, and she laughed at his slack-jawed expression when he held up the scarf and mittens set. They were bright yellow and orange, and each end of the scarf had the words “YOU’RE THE BOMB” embroidered into it next to a picture of a bomb with a lit fuse.

When Mei reached into her bag her fingers brushed something soft and fuzzy. Out came a plush polar bear, small enough to sit on her palm, with a little blue heart hanging from its mouth that said “You’re cool! Let’s chill” on it in white letters.

“I love it!” they cried in unison. Mei pressed her fingers to her lips as she tried and failed to hold back an exhilarated giggle and clasped her new bear close to her chest. Jamison tore the plastic tags off his gift as he donned his new scarf and mittens.

“Finally!” he said, waggling his fingers with a characteristic cackle.

Strangely, Mei found that she didn’t want to wait for Jamison to take her hand again, so, still laughing, she threaded her arm around his without even really thinking about it. He looked down at her, his unruly eyebrows raised in surprise as a bit of color came to his cheeks, then a delighted grin broke across his face and he was leading them off again.

Mei could feel her own cheeks flushing, but she didn’t care. It felt nice to be walking arm-in-arm with someone on Christmas Eve--with Jamison, her unusual friend. Even if she was out of place here, even if they weren’t like the other couples strolling together, for a few brittle minutes she could pretend, couldn’t she? Her steps slowed as their path took them past a bar, and Jamison looked a question at her.

“Fancy a Christmas cocktail, Snowball?” he asked with a smirk.

Mei had never really been one to drink all that much, but there was something about the festive atmosphere, Jamison’s infectious excitement, and the spontaneous nature of her night so far that made her want to stretch herself, to lower her inhibitions and have a bit of fun. She nodded up at him, and soon they were toasting and laughing, chatting up a storm as they never had before about chemistry and engineering. As she gazed at Jamison Fawkes’s goofy, grinning face, with wine singing on her tongue and pleasantly buzzing behind her eyes, something blossomed in Mei’s chest that she couldn’t quite name.

A little while later they took to the streets once again, arms intertwined and steps only slightly wobbly, Jamison wearing his new scarf and mittens, and Mei’s bear safely tucked into her bag beside Snowball. All around them the sights and sounds and smells of the city enveloped them in a glossy haze, like stepping into the pages of a magazine. Everything was so bright and polished, with lights that flashed and cycled through every color while music from a dozen sources all vied for her attention as she let Jamison pull her along beside him. When she looked up couldn’t see the stars, and for some reason that unsettled her.

Then the towering concrete jungle gave way to green as Central Park opened up wide before them, and Jamison sighed a misty plume of breath into the frigid night air.

“I was hopin’ there’d be some snow tonight,” he said, his expression wistful as he looked across the darkened park, “but I guess we ain’t gettin’ a white Christmas this year.”

Mei smirked and reached into her bag.

“Freeze! Don’t move!” she cried, and she laughed as she tossed Snowball into the air. The drone chirped and spun in a graceful pirouette above their heads before it dutifully zipped about, releasing an arctic blast that soon had several inches of fresh powder gathered at their feet and extending out for about twenty yards in every direction.

First they built a snowman, though it ended up a little lopsided since Jamison got a bit carried away with rolling up the middle ball and it was slightly larger than the bottom one. Mei grabbed her phone and they snapped a few selfies with their creation, then cracked up over their ridiculous faces and poses until they wiped tears from their eyes. As Mei bent to put her phone back in her purse, something cold and wet burst against the side of her head. A little shriek escaped her lips as snow went down the back of her neck, behind her ear, and she whirled toward Jamison with a scowl as he doubled over with laughter again. Mei cracked her knuckles and scooped up her own heaping handful of snow, and soon they were both shrieking with laughter as they chased each other across their little snow field, hiding behind trees and hurling snowballs with ruthless intent.

Eventually they lay collapsed in the snow, side by side, chests heaving and faces flushed, a few last little thrills of laughter bubbling up now and then. Mei saw Jamison flipping through the tiny notebook again as they recovered their breath, then he stuffed it back in a pocket and sat up.

“All right, come on,” he said, moving to stand up, “we gotta get movin’!”

“What are you talking about?” Mei asked, propping herself up, “What is all this, anyway?”

“Well, there’s still lots to do if we’re gonna make up for nine whole years!” he replied, then he slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening.

The color drained from Mei’s face.

“What?”

“I-I mean, uh…” Jamison scrambled for some kind of recovery, as though he might snatch the words he’d said out of the air and stuff them back into his mouth.

“That’s why you’re doing this? To… make up for lost time?”

Jamison’s shoulders sagged.

“Guess the cat’s outta the bag,” he grumbled as he collapsed back onto the snow beside her.

Mei’s fingers dug into the snow on either side of her, as though she were afraid of losing her grip on the very ground beneath her. In true Junkrat fashion it was all or nothing; he wanted to make up every Christmas she had missed all at once. The anxiety that had been gnawing away at her heart ate a little bit more. Nine years asleep in ignorance as the world fell apart and her friends died around her, and now she got to just make it up? As though she somehow deserved a free pass to pretend it never happened? Guilt burned like bile at the back of her throat.

“Why would you do that for me?”

“Huh?” he asked, eyebrows raised, “Why shouldn’t I?”

“I mean... it’s not like you have any reason to. I wasn’t a part of your life during that time; you didn’t miss out on anything because I was gone.”

“No, but  _ you  _ did. That’s what matters.”

“Why does it matter?” Mei demanded, her throat tight.

“B-because you… I mean, I…” Jamison stammered, looking away.

“Why do  _ I _ get to matter?” Mei blundered on, not sure if it was the drinks she’d had or something else drawing the words out of her, “Why am I the only one? No one else got to see another Christmas. I shouldn’t get to make up for lost time when they never will.”

“S-Snowball-”

Mei clambored to her feet, hot tears springing to the corners of her eyes.

“I’m sorry. It was sweet of you to arrange all this, really, but I don’t deserve it. I shouldn’t have come.”

“Hey, wait a tick,” Jamison said, gaining his feet as well, but Mei cut him off.

“I don’t belong here! Don’t you see?” she said, tears beginning to tumble down her cheeks, “Why didn’t I see it sooner myself? I don’t belong anywhere. Nine years?! It was never supposed to be that long! It was just supposed to be until someone came to rescue us, but the world just kept on turning. It  _ forgot  _ us. The whole world has moved on, and where does that leave me?”

“Mei-”

“Everything that I knew is gone now! I’m caught between a... a future I don’t have a place in anymore and a past I can’t go back to!” Mei sobbed, “Where am I supposed to belong? What do I do?!”

“Mei!”

“Why did everyone have to die and leave me behind?! Why?!”

Something pressed hard against her mouth, and it took her moment to realize that it was Jamison’s lips. His eyes were screwed shut tight, his hand resting on her shoulder with a touch so light it was as though he were afraid she might break as he kissed her. Almost as quickly as it had begun it was over, he was pulling back, and a furious blush was creeping across his cheeks and nose. Mei stood, stunned and blinking up at him in the moonlight and the lights of the city.

“Sorry,” Jamison mumbled, not quite able to look at her, “it was the only thing I could think of to get ya to stop cryin’.”

“Jamison…” she murmured with a little hiccup, but his kiss had done its work: no more words would come.

For a long moment neither of them said anything before Jamison cleared his throat.

“Listen… why don’t I just take ya back to your hotel?”

Even though the walk wasn’t terribly long they took a cab anyway. They rode in silence as the city rumbled past outside the car. Mei held her purse in her lap, and through the top opening she could see the little stuffed polar bear on its side, rocking gently with the motion of the cab. Next to her, Jamison fidgeted, drumming his fingers and shuffling his feet. He never seemed able to sit still, especially when he was nervous. During the ride there were a few moments that Mei thought he might say something, but he would suck his teeth or sigh instead and go back to looking out the window.

When they reached her hotel Jamison had Mei wait so he could open the taxi door for her. She took his proffered hand without a word and let him walk her inside. She could sense he was on edge, anxious, and he seemed hesitant to leave her. She wondered why, with the embarrassing scene she’d made. At the same time, she found the thought of him leaving threatening to bring the lump back to her throat, so she kept his large hand in hers all the way back to her room. Outside the door she turned to him and shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncertainly, dropping his hand. 

“Thank you for tonight,” she said, low, “and… I’m sorry that I ruined everything.”

Jamison reached out and lightly touched her chin.

“Hey, it ain’t like we’re gonna turn into punkins at midnight. And, y’know, there was one more thing…”

When Mei looked up at him quizzically he just gave her a small smile and jerked his sharp chin toward her hotel room door. She spun around and eyed it as though at any moment it might spring open of its own volition, but when nothing happened she fished the key card out of her purse and opened the door herself.

The soft glow of twinkling lights greeted her from the Christmas tree that had been set up in the corner of the room. The other lights in the room were turned off, but the tree itself cast enough light that she could see the pile of wrapped gifts beneath it. The room lacked a fireplace of course, but a pair of stockings, stuffed to the brim, had been hung from the dresser beneath the TV, which added to the ambient illumination with a video of a roaring fire.

“Did… did you do this?” Mei asked when at last she found her voice again.

“Who me? Nah. Must’a been Santa Claus,” Jamison replied with a knowing grin.

Mei took two steps into the room, her lips parted slightly. It probably was the work of a certain large man, she reflected, but one who wore a pig’s mask instead of a red suit. Jamison must have had Mako come set everything up while he had Mei distracted, though she didn’t want to think too hard about how they’d gotten access to her room. Turning over her shoulder she saw Jamison waiting in the hall behind her with anxious eyes and hopeful half-grin.

“Do you want to come in?”

“S’long as it’s okay.”

Mei nodded and stepped further into the room, setting her purse down on a chair and tossing her coat next to it before she sat on the edge of the bed. Jamison closed the door behind him and took a seat next to her. For a moment Mei just quietly marveled at the Christmas tree, an artificial one wrapped in strings of multicolored lights and hung with dozens of ornaments. Some of them were handmade, crafted from paper or bits of scrap. She saw one that looked like Snowball, and another one that was clearly supposed to be her and Jamison smiling and holding hands.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “You put so much into this…”

“You apologize too much, y’know that?” Jamison said with a smirk.

“Sorry.”

Jamison cuffed her playfully on the arm and they shared in a little chuckle, but soon it grew quiet again. The seconds stretched awkwardly as Jamison fidgeted next to her, and Mei sighed.

“I knew that what happened to me would leave scars,” she said, her voice quiet, “but I didn’t realize that it would still hurt so much.”

Jamison swallowed and chewed on his lower lip for a moment.

“I never meant ta upset ya, Snowball. Y’know, I never really celebrated a proper Christmas meself, and I thought it’d be fun, so I guess I got a little carried away.”

“What? No, no; this has all been wonderful. That you would do so much just for me… I should have been more grateful instead of spending the night feeling sorry for myself.”

Jamison spent a long moment searching her face, his expression almost pained. Then he looked down at his hands in his lap, fighting a mighty struggle with the words he could hardly bring himself to say.

“Mei,” he said at last, “Nine years ago, I was just some dumb kid. Kinda still am, really. I don’t think you’d ‘a had much patience for me. So, in a way, I’m actually kinda glad you was asleep all those years. Don’t get me wrong; I know ya missed a lotta time, and that your friends didn’t make it. That’s rough, sure as. But to me, it’s like… like you was waitin’.”

“Waiting? For what?”

Jamison looked at her then, a sweet sort of bashfulness in his eyes and a blush in his cheeks.

“For me to catch up to ya.”

That strange feeling blossomed in Mei’s chest again, but unlike at the bar Mei knew what to do with it now. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Jamison’s cheek, drawing his face close. He was so warm. His eyelids fluttered closed a moment before hers, and the tips of their noses brushed just before their lips met. Their kiss in the park had been so swift that she hardly remembered what it felt like, so Mei took her time in exploring Jamison’s lips. They were softer than she thought they’d be, and she planted three delicate kisses there.

“Thank you, Jamie,” she whispered as she pulled back.

He looked stunned, and Mei imagined that little hearts would have appeared in his eyes if they could. Then a manic little giggle bubbled up out of him, and he threw his arms around her with a gleeful grin.

“Any time, Snowball!” he laughed, “Oh! I know it ain’t Christmas mornin’ yet, but I want ya to open somethin’.”

He snatched one of the presents from under the tree, a tiny gift box wrapped in far too much shimmery blue paper. Mei gave Jamison a curious look with a raised eyebrow, but she tore into the paper nonetheless. Inside the box was a silver snowflake pendant set on a delicate matching chain. At the center of the snowflake was set a sparkling blue gemstone: a sapphire.

“It’s so beautiful,” she breathed, lifting it from the box.

“Ya like it?”

“I love it! I just wish I had something to give you…”

Jamison put his arm around her and drew her close, kissing the side of her head.

“Ah, no worries. Besides, I wanna spoil ya a bit.”

“Jamison Fawkes, I think you might have me falling for you.”

“Then I’d say that makes this a pretty Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah,” Mei agreed, snuggling close to Jamison’s side as she held the pendant he had given her tight in her hand. Outside, in the lights of the City That Never Sleeps, snow had begun to fall.

 

“Merry Christmas.”


End file.
